Automatic Kafka #5

Issue five of Joe Casey and Ashley Wood's Automatic Kafka arrives with a cover that is equal parts unsettling and hypnotic — a figure shrouded in fiery orange tones, wearing a gas mask, emerges from a haze of heat and shadow in Wood's characteristically painterly, almost photographic style. The stark white upper half of the cover, carrying the book's clean typographic design, contrasts strikingly with the smoldering intensity below. This 2003 WildStorm mature-readers series continues to push the boundaries of what superhero comics can look and feel like, and this installment looks like no exception.